Beta Bot

This ‘bot swims in water. It also displays an emotional response to its environment—if the ‘bot bumps into wall, for example, its LED lights turn red and it shakes as if it’s angry.

How Does It Work

The ‘bot’s brain is an Arduino microcontroller. You can attach sensor inputs to the Arduino board and also send output signals to actuators. Arduino is a flexible and popular physical computing platform—Arduino’s microcontroller can be quickly be updated with code and is used in a wide range of Maker projects.

About the Makers

Ali Sandoval, Josh Jarboe, and Shelma Soto, San Diego, CA

Ali, Josh, and Shelma are all students at High Tech High Media Arts in San Deigo. Beta Bot is Ali, Josh, and Shelma’s first robotic creation.

Karl Wendt, Kahn Academy, Mountain View, CA

Karl is an industrial designer and teacher. He lead Ali, Josh, and Shelma through the development of Beta Bot. Karl recently joined Kahn Academy and sees project-based learning as one way to inspire students to succeed in school.